A Little More Action: Vegas Day 2

We actually did several things today that I had never done in Vegas. We stood in line at the half-price ticket booth to get half-price passes to the Star Trek Experience. We are glad that we did because it was worth the $20, but not the $40. We also rode on the Monorail because the Star Trek Experience is clear out on the far end of the Strip at the Hilton hotel so we decided to save time and take the monorail. The commentary on the monorail was super cheesy, but they did mention a few interesting facts. Like 80% of people gamble when they come to Vegas. I guess we are part of the 20% that don't. Yeah, we didn't spend a cent on gambling while we are there. I know that it sounds somewhat absurd but I mainly come to Vegas for the art exhibits and shows like Cirque du Soleil and other artists like Celine Dion.

I was happy that William had shown me the iconic Star Trek movie- "The Wrath of Khan"- because I have always been more of a Next Generation fan so at least I was more familiar with the old school kind. But, neither of us are really Trekkies- one of William's professors at Carnegie Mellon had done some of the virtual reality aspects for their shows and that William needed to check them out. So that was our main rationale in going.

They had these HUGE timeline that spanned all of the series- from the original Star Trek, Next Generation, and Deep Space 9 and it was crazy just how much detailed information they had. We just glanced at it and walked on to see the shows. Their decor was pretty neat- a replica ship and the giant insignia.

I was actually completely IMPRESSED by the shows. There were two of them- Klingon Encounter and The Borg Invasion. Each of the shows had live action to it. With the Borg Invasion, we walked through a replica ship and saw some of the crew be attacked as well as the floor moving. Then, we saw one of the best 3D movies I have ever seen. The images were so clear- it was so impressive. And of course they added some 4D elements like moving seats, blasts of air, etc. The Klingon Encounter was also so amazing- they had a complete replica of the bridge and then they had little mini ships that we entered. If anyone has been on Star Tours at Disneyland, this is a suped up version. They said not to set anything on the empty seats next to us and we later found out why because it would have gone FLYING across the room. I was thrown back and forth in my seat like a rollercoaster (but not painfully like yesterday). The coolest part was that they had screens on the ceiling as well as in the front so you truly felt like you were in one of the battles. It was quite fun. We were on the back row and I think that is the best for the ride because you can see everything on all of the screens.

We actually found the gift shop to be kind of disturbing because there was just WAY too much Star Wars paraphernalia and it was all super expensive, but I'm sure it would be HEA-VEN to a true Trekkie. We're just not one of them.

We then headed out to the Stratosphere where we at at their revolving restaurant. Neither of us have ever eaten in a revolving restaurant and it was such a GREAT time. We actually almost made it around the entire loop before we left. I loved that they had dessert carts strategically stationed as you went around.

Here's William enjoying the view.

The Strip was the most interesting part to look at because of just the sheer volume of things.

Here's the view from one of the other directions.

The food itself was really good. I got french toast with fresh fruit, chocolate, whipped cream, and syrup. But William got the BEST BURGER that I have ever had. It was huge and so he was kind enough to share some with me. Now I understand why it was $20 because it was so good and worth every penny.

After eating, we got to walk around the observation decks where we learned some interesting information about the Las Vegas area. Did you know that the Mormons were the first people to settle Las Vegas?? We had no idea about that but we kind of wonder what happened for it to now have the name "Sin City".

We also spent a lot of time watching people ride the rides on the top of the Stratosphere. Years ago, I rode on the Big Shot, this needle that shoots you 20 stories up into the air on the already oober tall Stratosphere. It was the scariest experience of my life. You are so high up and then to just be shot up in the air is terrifying- and I was lifted off of my seat and my shoulders hit the safety restraint.

Since I did it that once, I will never do it again. I said that William could go on the rides if he wanted to, but he was so sweet and said that he would just watch with me. And it was entertaining to see people's faces. They have gotten 2 new rides since I was last here- this one called "Insanity" that spins you around over the edge.

And then this little cart that repeatedly drops you over the side of the Stratosphere and bounces you up and down, dropping you a little farther each time. This was the best one to get people's reactions, especially from the inside observation deck. When the people drop down to the lowest point, you are right next to them inside and so you can see the looks of terror on their face. It makes for some good laughs.

Then, it was back on the Monorail to the Venetian where we went to the exhibit at the Guggenheim Hermitage called "Modern Masters" where I was able to see a Van Gogh, Picasso, Braque, Monet, Miro, and others. It was a good exhibit- again, not the best I've seen there, but good. The most disappointing part though was that their gift shop was closed! They have one of the best art gift shops I've been to so it was sad to not even be able to take a look. Hopefully, the new one they are building will be even better.

We liked the murals in the lobby of the Venetian

And the gondoliers at the Grand Canal Shoppes. We didn't go on a ride, just watched them.

And then we headed to the brand new Shops at Palazzo which some are still under construction. They have this beautiful waterfall in the middle of them.

And this is the Palazzo lobby- the sculpture in the middle is pretty fabulous.

Both William and I cannot believe how many shopping centers there are in such a small area- the Mandalay Bay shops, Bellagio Shops, Mile Shops, Forum Shops, Grand Canal Shops, Palazzo Shops, and Fashion Show Mall. With so many so close together, we are amazed that they are able to stay in business. And we walked through them all, except for the Fashion Show Mall.

We were only able to see 1 water show today because of the "wind". We were going to spend the remainder of our time there at the shows, but since they closed, we decided to just go to the airport early because we had our fill of Vegas. There's only so much of the city that I can handle. I usually max out at like 2 and 1/2 days. It was a good thing that we got to the airport early because our later flight was delayed and so we were able to go standby for FREE on the flight before us so that we got back to Oakland before midnight. Otherwise, it could have been a REALLY long night.

All in all, it was a GREAT trip and I am amazed by how much we were able to fit in. It will be awhile before we are in Vegas again- I need to wait until they get some different exhibits there . . .